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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. fine — all right
  4. fork — in a road
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. court — of a king
  8. court — of law
  9. fine — high quality
  10. season — in sport
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. bark — to shout
  16. season — of the year
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. deal — to handle

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com